Hi, I'm a 57 yr old woman looking forward to our first trip to Tobago in Jan. 07. I'll be travelling with my husband but love taking long birding walks alone in the early mornings while he sleeps in a little. Castara will be our base for our 2 week visit. Do I need have any concerns about hiking alone? It's pretty important to me and I'm willing to accept a reasonable level of risk. Thanks for advice.

Hello Linda,it depends on what you mean by early morning.It is usually daylight at about 6am and the village will be up and working by then so there will be lots of people around so it will be safe.As to hubby lying in---not for long,as soon as the cockerels and cocricos start calling,well you'll see.Birdwatching,you don't have to go anywhere from Castara,but if you want to go on a tailormade forest walk contact Kelly via Merline Jackson in the rumshop/general store near the school.
Enjoy David(145 days to go )

Hi Linda-
I am a thirty year old woman from the states....from a small town, used to going places by myself late nights and early mornings. In Castara, i walked the beaches in the late evenings alone, and aside from some friendly chatter, i was always treated respectfully and i was not in the least afraid-
as with anywhere...be alert- especially on the windy roads as cars move quickly... but i feel sure you will love to hike in the woods and around town(we had a car and i walked most places)....don't miss the little castara waterfall(most anyone can point you there)....its a nice little walk that ends with a rewardind dip in a beautiful, clear pool.
As for early...i have to agree woth David-
I did not fully comprehend early till my trip to castara-
The cokycrows will not let anyone, including your husband sleep in. My fiance is an artist and works until the hours past midnight and generally is not up before 10am....between the birds and the bussling of early day work....(all the better to relax in the afternoon!) he could not stay in the bed.
When we left Tobago, the sky was dark-morning had barely broken and on the way to the airport, locals were up and working or on their way-
you will love it
enjoy your stay
barrett

I've been reading some of the reports encouraging hiking only with guides. I can understand that perhaps if someone isn't used to hiking in general then this may be a problem, as I assume there are few signposted ways. My wife and I are considering doing quite a few short unguided walks while we're there (as well as some guided ones, as this is our first time and we need someone to give us a wildlife lesson!). We do a lot of hiking in lot's of different kinds of places so are we mis guided (deliberate pun)?

Somewhere someone mentioned that there exists still some 60's topographical maps. Can someone post the name of the publisher etc. again?
thanks,

Its difficult to answer questions like this. I'm in deep doo-dah if I say its safe to walk unguided and then some idiot wanders off down some tiny trail, lose their way and are never seen again. In fairness, that's pretty hard to do - rainforest is not like an English forest - its so dense that you can't just go wandering off. But, given the things that some idiots do, anything is possible. After all, who would believe that anyone could be so daft as to put their poodle into a microwave to dry it?

All I can tell you is that I regularly walk trails throughout the island on my own and without guides. Frankly, the over-riding reason that I would recommend a guide is simply that you miss so much on your own. A good guide can totally transform the experience, pointing out things you would never recognise or appreciate on your own.

The maps you are refering to were published in 1969 by the British Ministry of Defence to a scale of 1:25,000. Each sheet measures about 35x25 inches, so they are not something to take on holiday with you. Sheet 1, covering the area from Crown Point to just west of Scarborough, is out of print and I have been unable to find it copies anywhere.

Under NO circumstances would I recommend using Omnimap for anything. My dealings with them are very considerably less than satisfactory. I ordered a set of these maps and they supplied just two sheets. In fact their site gives no indication that these maps can be purchased as individual separate items. They are totally ignoring my requests to return them for refund. Stick with buying from a British firm - its a damn site easier to do something about it if they let you down.

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